The Beatles
5/7
Is there anything the mop tops didn’t pioneer? George Harrison discovered the sitar on the set of Help! in 1965. Cue countless hours studying with Ravi Shankar, the glorious raga-rock of ‘Love You To’, and the vaguely confusing ‘Within You Without You’. Directly responsible for ’90s Britpop band Kula Shaker, however – frankly unforgivable, so minus two points.
Paul Simon
6/7
Graceland may have been the soundtrack to a million childhoods (hands up if dad played it endlessly in the car, interrupted only by Brothers In Arms), but Paul Simon was mixing in the ethnic beats long before anyone else was. As early as Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘El Condor Pasa’, released in 1970; if it was made by a culture other than his own, Simon was having it (leading to claims of unoriginality – lose one point, Paul Simon!).
Ry Cooder
7/7
Essentially a nomad himself, Cooder spent his early career playing with everyone from Taj Mahal to the Rolling Stones. However, it was the recordings he made for the Buena Vista Social Club in 1997 that earned him a place on our list. Selling in excess of five million copies, the album gave a new lease of life to the Cuban performers, some of whom were already in their nineties. Not just an album, but a rehabilitation centre – have yourself top marks, Ry Cooder!
Eric Clapton
1/7
Back in 1974, before reggae had grabbed the world by its dreads, old Slowhand happened upon a track (‘I Shot The Sheriff’) by minor cult phenomenon (and now posthumous megastar) Bob Marley. He made it number one all over the world, and everyone celebrated his world vision. Then he drunkenly praised anti-immigration politician Enoch Powell in front of a blues-loving audience, and all hope was lost. If we could give minus points, we would.
Damon Albarn
7/7
The Blur frontman was approached by Oxfam in 2000, hoping he’d make a film to support their African campaign. He went one better, recording and releasing Mali Music, an album made with local musicians in Bamako. More recently, he collaborated with Chen Shi-zheng on the acclaimed Monkey: Journey To The West. He’s also said he’d like to do a Blur album in Baghdad. Like an updated Paul Simon, with added imagination.
